Although the Washington Capitals won the Stanley Cup 10 months ago, it feels as if it was just yesterday that the 2018 postseason came to a close, and now, it's already the 2019 playoffs.

Last night, the Capitals and Carolina Hurricanes, as well as the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames and Colorado Avalanche, started their respective playoff series, and there was no lack of action. Here's how Thursday's games played out.

Capitals top Hurricanes, 4-2

Although the Capitals were struggling to get scoring chances halfway through the first period, two goals from Nicklas Backstrom and a power-play goal from Alex Ovechkin put Washington up 3-0 over Carolina after the opening frame, and the score would hold through the second period.

However, Andrei Svechnikov had two goals in the third to bring the Hurricanes within one as they ignited a late rally. However, the comeback was stopped short thanks to blocks and strong defense from Backstrom and company, and Lars Eller was able to score on the empty net to secure the victory.

The Caps have a 1-0 series lead over Carolina in their first playoff series agianst the Hurricanes, and will look to carry that success over into Game 2. However, the Hurricanes proved to be dangerous Thursday, and are ready to compete and tie things up.

Maple Leafs dominate Bruins, 4-1

Heading into Thursday's Game 1, the Maple Leafs were reminded of their previous playoff demons against Boston, but they a glimpse that perhaps things would be different this season with an impressive Game 1 victory Thursday.

Patrice Bergeron gave the Bruins an early 1-0 lead with a power-play tally, but Mitch Marner followed up with two consecutive goals, scoring one shorthanded on a penalty shot, and William Nylander also scored on a breakaway to put the Leafs up 3-1 heading into the third. John Tavares added another goal in the final frame, and also recored an assist in the win.

Toronto now holds a 1-0 series lead over Boston and will look to continue capitalizing on their offense in order to finally overcome the Bruins and advance to the second round.

Flames blank Avalanche, 4-0

Calgary proved their worth as the top team in the Western Conference to close out the season, and the Flames' success carried into the playoffs as they defeated the Avalanche, a team that has had its fair share of struggles this year.

Andrew Mangiapane opened the scoring for the Flames late in the first, and from there, Calgary continued to dominate. Matthew Tkachuk had two goals, and Mikael Backlund also added a tally in the victory. But the first star of the night was 37-year-old goaltender Mike Smith, who made 26 saves to shut out Colorado and also had an assist on Tkachuk's second goal of the game in the third period.

Having qualified for the playoffs just three times over the last 10 years, the Flames made a statement with their Game 1 performance and established themselves as early favorites with their victory. They now have a 1-0 series lead.

The 2019 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championship is coming to a close this Memorial Day weekend.

After two weeks, the sixteen team field has been narrowed down to four with the world championship now on the line in Slovakia.

The two group winners, Canada, the top-ranked team in the world and 26-time IIHF Champions, and Russia, who rolled through the group stage with a 7-0 record and a +29 goal differential, are the favorites. Russia overwhelmingly has played like the best team in Slovakia, outscoring its opponents 40-10 behind Nikita Kucherov's 16 points in eight games.

The Russian/ Soviet Union team is the only team with more titles than the Canadians with 27 (five as Russia, 22 as the Soviet Union).

Washington Capital Alex Ovechkin is playing for Team Russia. In eight games he's scored two goals and recorded an assist.

Canada will face off against the Czech Republic, whose only loss came against the Russians in group play, with a spot to the Finals on the line. Russia will play Finland for the last spot in the gold medal match.

Three of the four teams remaining (Russia, Canda, and the Czech Republic) are the winningest teams in the IIHF's history. The four semifinalists have combined to win 67 of the 82 IIHF World Championships.

When is the 2019 IIHF World Championship Finals?

The 2019 IIHF World Championship Finals will take place at 8:15 p.m. local time (2:15 p.m. ET) on Sunday, May 26. The bronze medal match will precede the gold medal match at 3:45 p.m. local time (9:15 a.m. ET).

2019 IIHF World Championship Schedule:

There are only four matches left in the 2019 IIHF World Championship. The two semifinals, the bronze medal match, and the gold medal match.

When the St. Louis Blues woke up on Jan. 3, they were in dead last in the NHL. A 15-18-4 record gave them 34 points, less than teams like the Los Angeles Kings and the Ottawa Senators who would go on to finish the season as the two worst teams. Yes, St. Louis had played in only 37 games to that point, the fewest in the league, but finding a way to climb back into the playoff hunt seemed daunting and unlikely.

Now the Blues are the Western Conference champions and stand just four wins away from the Stanley Cup.

The Blues have been one of the best stories of the NHL season climbing from last place to the Stanley Cup Final. When looking back at St. Louis’ season, there are several moments one can point to as key moments in the turnaround. Craig Berube replaced Mike Yeo as head coach on Nov. 20 and goalie Jordan Binnington got his first start with the Blues on Jan. 7 and never gave back the crease.

But the turnaround really started on Jan. 3. On that morning, the Blues were in last place. That would be the last day they would find themselves there.

And it all started with a 5-2 win against the Washington Capitals.

On Jan. 3, St. Louis and Washington looked like two teams headed in opposite directions. While the Blues were in last place, the Caps were rolling with a 24-11-3 record, first in the Metropolitan Division. Washington came into St. Louis on a five-game road winning streak. As if that wasn’t enough, the Blues were also without sniper Vladimir Tarasenko.

And yet, what looked like an easy win for the Caps turned into anything but. Robert Thomas scored a deflection just four minutes into the game. Washington managed to take a 2-1 lead early in the second, but St. Louis rattled off four straight goals for the 5-2 win. With Washington down only 3-2 heading into the third period, the Blues but on a possession clinic outshooting Washington 14-2 in the final frame.

"We stayed aggressive," Alex Pietrangelo told reporters. "When we're playing in the O zone, the best way to play defense is to play in their end. We kept the puck, we moved the puck, we worked. Forwards were great tonight, protecting the center of the ice. It kind of took their playmakers out of the game."

The Caps’ first shot came 13 minutes into the third. By then, the Blues already had 12 shots and two goals.

Over the course of an 82-game season, teams will lose games against teams they shouldn’t. This felt different. Watching this game, you did not come away thinking the Caps played down to an inferior team. The Blues dominated that game and the Caps knew it.

“They were skating, competing harder, won races, more determined than we were,” defenseman Matt Niskanen said. “If we’re being honest about it, we didn’t have a very good game, and they played a pretty darn good game.”More importantly, St. Louis realized it as well. They knew following the game that this was a win and a performance they could build on.

“I think we out-chanced them, so we're building here at even strength,” Pietrangelo said. “It's just a matter of keeping it at even strength and scoring goals. Tonight the goals weren't necessarily pretty but we created a lot of chances."That night proved to be the first night of the turnaround. From Jan. 3 on, no team in the NHL earned more points than St. Louis’ 65, not even the Tampa Bay Lightning who won the Presidents’ Trophy with an incredible 128 points.

St. Louis was not expected to be bad this season. The team made a number of offseason moves to bolster the roster and many thought they could be real contenders, but they sure did not play like it through the first half of the season. It took a big win over the defending Stanley Cup champs to show them and everyone else just how good they really were. From that point on, they never looked back.